History Personal Statement Example 28

The study of History - from the daily lives of individuals, to the causes and effects of international events - is the most useful way to gain an understanding of the world, past and present. I am committed to developing an accurate understanding of the world, and the study of History has consistently been the way that I have achieved this, from reading of Kate Mcmullan's biography of Harriet Tubman as a child, to my ongoing reading on twentieth century Chinese history and the American civil rights movement.

The individual assignment I carried out at A level gave me the opportunity to develop my historical research skills as well as allowing me to learn about the Chinese revolution, a subject I am very interested in. With independent research comes a sense of responsibility for accuracy and objectivity. Through reading books by Michael Lynch, Han Suyin, and William Hinton I gained a balance of information on twentieth century China. In order to carry out the individual assignment I had to gain an understanding of the unfamiliar historical context of China. This understanding was valuable when looking at the history of a variety of different countries for the 'Britain and Decolonization' module.

Both Art and Photography A levels include very little taught lesson time and therefore require students to do a large amount of independent work. I achieved 100 percent in two of my A2 fine art modules and one of my A2 photography modules. I believe that this demonstrates my commitment to my studies, good time management and desire to present work of the highest standard. I have also gained an AS in Sociology, a subject I continue to take an active interest in through listening to BBC Radio Four's Thinking Allowed and through my own reading of books on ethnic indentity by Miri Song,Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Anne Montague.

I have always been encouraged in my art practice and have begun and withdrawn from a BA in Fine Art at Camberwell College of Arts this year. This was a hard decision as there was every indication that I would achieve highly on my course at Camberwell. For example, I was chosen by the head of the Painting department to be a student representative and my personal tutor was confident in my progress. While art practice is enjoyable, learning and the communication of ideas is what really interests me and I have found these interests are difficult to fulfill through the study of art. The decision to study History at degree level is a move in the direction of outward-looking learning that I wish to continue in the long term. The analytical skills developed through the study of history as well as the knowledge of individual topics are both aspects of a degree that I would consider very valuable.

I intend to spend this year continuing in my part time job and gaining voluntary work experience through the Cambridge and District volunteer centre. I am also applying for a relief work post in a young mother's hostel. As well as my part time job I have also been an active member of the Re-evaluation Counselling community for the past 4 years. This has given me the opportunity to organise day-long events and lead support groups within workshops. I have also assisted other young people in leading support groups. I have learned from this that the one of the most important leadership skills is the ability to support and facilitate the leadership of others. I think that this experience will help me to be a valuable contributor to any student body that I join.

I hope that my own experiences, in addition to my A level result, show that I have the ability and commitment to succeed in a History degree. I achieved 108 out of 120 in my A2 'Power and Control in Nazi Germany' module and 114 out 120 in the 'Boom and Bust' module at AS. However, my most valuable assets as a history student are my curiosity about the events that have shaped the world, and my will to fully and accurately understand everything I come into contact with.